Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Melanie Ng (seated in front) together with Gov. Hilario Davide III (seated at front, middle table) lead the first business summit to unify all private sectors in Bantayan Island. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)
Around 100 private and public sector representatives met in the first ever Bantayan Island Business Summit held in Sta. Fe town on Saturday.
The event, organized by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry Bantayan Island Chapter (CCCI-BIC), aimed to unify various business sectors present on the island and come up with a single development plan.
“We believe there are lots of opportunities here. We just need to come together to discover, collaborate, discover, and act,” said CCCI President Melanie Ng in a speech at the Sta. Fe Beach Club & Ogtong Cave Resort.
The activity was also organized in partnership with the Cebu provincial government.
Resort owners, poultry farm owners, fish farm owners, town mayors, and line agency representatives were among those who attended.
The CCCI-BIC was established in 2013 by CCCI past President Lito Maderazo in an attempt to develop Bantayan Island as one.
Bantayan Island is composed of three towns with distinct economic thrusts, Sta. Fe being strong in tourism, Bantayan in poultry and agriculture, and Madridejos in fishing and aquaculture.
Maderazo, who hails from Bantayan Island, said the towns face common problems and must work together to come up with unified solutions.
Among the common problems Maderazo cited are land titling difficulties, concerns on environmental protection, solid waste management, and disaster resiliency.
“The summit is just the beginning. It’s after the event that we will do a lot of work,” he said.